‘Vikings’ Season 5: First Look Images Show Bjorn In The Desert, Ivar And Heahmund Battle It Out Together
While fans anxiously await the announcement of the premiere date of Season 5 of History Channel’s Vikings, new images have finally been released for the upcoming season. Already they paint an epic picture of what will happen in Season 5. Bjorn Ironside (Alexander Ludwig) is revealed on camelback riding through the desert. Ivar the Boneless (Alex Hogh) is blood spattered and furious as he sits outside his chariot, and Heahmund (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) is seen pointing a sword at someone.
SPOILER ALERT: This article discusses Season 5 of History Channel’s Vikings. Please proceed with caution if you wish to avoid spoilers.
One of the greatest obstacles for Bjorn’s advancement into the Mediterranean, seen in Season 4 of Vikings, is the fact that he eventually ended up in the desert in present-day Tunisia, according to the history books. However, this event is something that is very hard to recreate on location in Ireland where Vikings is filmed. As a result of this, Season 5 of Vikings has scenes including Bjorn Ironside being filmed in Morocco. Vikings creator Michael Hirst explains the struggle to Entertainment Weekly.
“I always knew the real Bjorn Ironside went into the Mediterranean and found himself in what is now Tunisia, on the edge of the Sahara. One of the things that was constraining us was that we couldn’t reproduce the Sahara desert in the west of Ireland… When you see the Vikings in the Sahara, in these sand dunes… you’d never seen that palette on the show before. It’s exquisite and wonderful.”
Along with the release of the new image above, History Channel revealed the names of some of the other characters alongside Bjorn: Halfdan the Black (Jasper Paakkonen), who we already know from previous seasons, and, newcomer, Sindric (Frankie McCafferty).
Also released are two images of Ivar the Boneless and the new character, Heahmund, a religious warrior. Both images are similar, showing Ivar and Heahmund in what appears to be a miserable battle played out in the rain. EW confirms they are, in fact, images from the same event.
This battle will play out in York in England. However, while Floki made Ivar a chariot in Season 4 of Vikings, it seems Ivar has been thrown out of it in the middle of battle, leading to the image that shows Ivar screaming in frustration. It is possible that the image showing Heahmund could actually be of him pointing his sword at Ivar. Michael Hirst explains the chariot event further.
“He’s given a chariot to travel around in, and being Ivar, he travels around in it completely recklessly, and crashes it at a very inopportune moment. The moment he’s crashed it and leans up against the wheels, he realizes he’s surrounded by Saxon warriors.”
While Ivar seems to be in a defeated position, he still “taunts” the Saxons rather than beg for his life. And even though Ivar and Heahmund are on opposing sides, Hirst reveals that “a certain amount of mutual respect will eventually develop “between them. This could indicate that Ivar somehow manages to get himself out of this dangerous predicament in Season 5 of Vikings and lives to fight another day.
What are you looking forward to most in Season 5 of Vikings? Let us know your thoughts and theories by commenting below.
You can view the official trailer for Season 5 of Vikings below.
Vikings has been confirmed by History Channel as returning in 2017 with Season 5. It is expected the premiere date for Season 5 will be made during the Vikings panel at San Diego Comic-Con on Friday, July 21.
For those attending San Diego Comic-Con, the details of the Vikings panel are below.
“Vikings favorites return to introduce new faces to SDCC. Katheryn Winnick (Lagertha), Gustaf Skarsgard (Floki), Alexander Ludwig (Bjorn), and Alex Hogh Andersen (Ivar) along with Michael Hirst (writer/creator) reveal an exclusive sneak peek at the upcoming season. Panel to be held Friday, July 21, 2017 5.45 p.m. — 6.45 p.m.”
[Featured Image by Jonathan Hession/History Channel]
